Austria Tourism - Vienna Tourist Attractions

Vienna, AustriaVienna is the capital of Austria and is also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million, it is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by population in the European Union, and was listed by Mercer Human Resource Consulting as having the 2nd highest quality of living, as of 2008. Vienna is host to many major international organizations such as the United Nations and OPEC. Vienna lies in the very east of Austria and is close to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and in 2005 an Economist Intelligence Unit study of 127 world cities ranked it first equal with Vancouver for the quality of life.

Vienna Tourist Attractions and Landmarks

Augustinian Church / AugustinerkircheA parish church located on Josefsplatz, next to the Hofburg, the winter palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Vienna. Originally built in the 14th century as the parish church of the imperial court of the Habsburgs, the harmonious Gothic interior was added in the 18th century. Its official name is St. Augustine's Church. although the Viennese always called it The Augustinian's Church.

Austrian National Library / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek
A 7.4 million items in its collections, the largest library in Austria. It is located in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna; since 2005 some of the collections find themselves in the baroque Palais Mollard-Clary. Founded by the Habsburgs, the library was originally located in the current Prunksaal building and called the Hofbibliothek, changing to its current name after 1920.

The collections consist of: papyri, manuscripts, ancient and rare books, maps, globes, music, portraits, graphics, photographs, autographs and posters as well as works in and on Esperanto and other artificial languages are stored in the various collections and are available for scientific research.

Belvedere Palace
A baroque palace complex built by Prince Eugene of Savoy in the 3rd district of Vienna, south-east of the city centre. It houses the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere museum.

Ephesos Museum
Ephesus Archaeological Museum is located in Selcuk, near the entrance to the Basilica of St. John. The museum rooms display excavations from the ancient city of Ephesus, the nearby Temple of Artemis and the Basilica of St. John. In Ephesus, the works of art dug up between 1867-1905 were transported to the British Museum, those from 1905-1923 taken to Vienna. Then Turkish Republic forbade taking antiques out of the country and founded a museum in Selçuk near Ephesus.Its present form was given in 1983.

Ethnographical Museum / Vienna Museum of EthnologyThe largest anthropological museum in Austria. It currently resides in the Neue Hofburg and houses a quarter million ethnographical and archaeological objects from Asia, Africa, Oceania, and America. Important collections include Mexican artifacts, with unique Aztec featherwork; part of James Cook's collection of Polynesia and Northwest Coast art; numerous Benin bronzes; the collection of Charles von Hügel from India, Southeast Asia, and China; artifacts collected during the circumnavigation of the globe by the SMS Novara; and two of the remaining rongorongo tablets.

The museum's most famous piece is a feathered headdress believed to have belonged to Moctezuma, the last Aztec emperor, which has created friction between the Mexican and the Austrian governments. Although taken from Mexico as war booty by the Spanish in the 16th century, Austria acquired it legally from France in 1880.

Hofburg Imperial Palace
A palace in Vienna, Austria, which has housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria. It was the Habsburg's principal winter residence, while Schönbrunn Palace was their preferred summer residence. The Palace was the birthplace of Marie Antoinette in 1755.

Imperial Apartments
The fittings and furniture mostly date from the second half of the 19th century, but the majority of the ceramic stoves are part of the original 18th-century fittings. These stoves were fired by court stove-stokers from special parallel "heating" passages in order to avoid making the rooms dirty. From 1824 pipes for heating the stoves with hot air were installed. The chandeliers of Bohemian lead crystal were made by the firm of Lobmeyr and held candles until the end of the 19th century, when electricity was installed in the palace.

Imperial Treasury Schatzkammer
Located in the Hofburg Palace, the entrance is at the Schweizer Hof. The Schatzkammer houses a collection of 1,000 years of treasures. The display was completely renovated in 1983-1987. It houses the crowns and relics and vestments of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Empire. The Holy Lance - reputedly the lance that pierced Jesus' side - the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Saber of Charlemagne can be viewed. Also housed is the Burgundian Treasure, connected with the medieval order of chivalry, the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Ecclesiastical Treasury, and the private collections of the Habsburgs.

Kärntner Strasse
The most famous shopping streets in central Vienna. It runs from the Stephansplatz out to the Wiener Staatsoper at Karlsplatz on the Ringstraße. The first record of Kärntner Straße is from 1257, as Strata Carintianorum, which refers to its importance as a trade route to the southern province of Carinthia.

Lippizaner Horses
A breed of horse closely associated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria where the finest representatives demonstrate the haute ecole or "high school" movements of classical dressage, including the highly controlled, stylized jumps and other movements known as the "airs above the ground." The Lipizzan breed dates back to the 16th century, when it was developed with the support of the Habsburg nobility. The breed takes its name from one of the earliest stud farms established, located near the Kras village of Lipica (spelled "Lipizza" in Italian), in modern-day Slovenia.

Museum of Musical Instruments

New Chateau

Palace Chapel

Schonbrunn Palace
One of the most important cultural monuments in Austria and since the 1960s has also been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna. The palace and gardens illustrate the tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs.

Schonburg Gardens

Spanish Riding School
A traditional riding school for Lipizzan horses, which perform in the Winter Riding School in the Hofburg. Not only is it a center for classical dressage, the headquarters is a tourist attraction in Vienna that offers public performances as well as permitting public viewing of some training sessions. The presentation builds on four centuries of experience and tradition in classical dressage. The leading horses and riders of the school also periodically tour and perform worldwide.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral
The mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP. Its current Romanesque and Gothic form seen today, situated at the heart of Vienna, Austria in the Stephansplatz, was largely initiated by Rudolf IV and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first being a parish church consecrated in 1147. As the most important religious building in Austria's capital, the cathedral has born witness to many important events in that nation's history and has become one of the city's most recognizable symbols.

Vienna Boys’ Choir
A choir of trebles and altos based in Vienna. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countries around the world, and individually interviewed.

Vienna State Opera
An opera house - and opera company - with a history dating back to the mid 19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. The members of the Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from its orchestra.

Vienna Woods / Wienerwald
A low, wooded section of the Alps in eastern Lower Austria and Vienna. The area covers over 1,000 square kilometres (385 sq.mi) and includes the northernmost parts of the entire Alpine chain.

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